Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Basic and Advanced Shooting Modes Explained

If youre just getting started with your DSLR, all the new words and settings can be very confusing to you. So, today Im going to break down what the different settings mean, and what theyre used for.
Heres what my dial looks like
(and pretty much what most other cameras dials look like as well)
First Ill explain the presets, which is the lower half. Basic Shooting Techniques.
With the "Basic Zone" modes, all you have to do is point and shoot, the camera sets everything automatically based on which mode youre in. Most point and shoot cameras also have these settings.
Starting with the green square in the center, working down the dial.
Full Auto - Pretty self explanatory, everything is automatic, everything will adjust itself for whatever you shoot, just shoot away. 
Portrait - Portrait mode blurs the background to make the human subject stand out. It also makes flesh tones and the hair look softer than with the full auto mode.
Landscape - Us the landscape mode for wide scenery, night scenes, or to have everything in focus from near to far. The greens and blues also become more vivid and sharper than with full auto.
Close up - When you want to photograph flowers or small things close up, use the close up more. To make small things appear much larger, use a macro lens.
Sports - To photograph a moving subject use the sports mode. You can use this to shoot a child running, playing sports (as the name suggests) or even a moving vehicle.
Night Portrait - To shoot someone at night and obtain a natural looking exposure in the background, use this mode. Using a tripod will help prevent camera shake in the low light.
Flash off - In places where flash photography is prohibited, use the flash off mode. This mode is also effective for candlelight scenes when you want to capture the ambient light. This is another one where you might need a tripod if the light is somewhat dim.
*Movie Shooting - (Live View) Not all cameras have this, my Canon T1i does, so Im explaining it. Using this mode will close the view finder, and the screen will now work like a point and shoot. To focus you now press the little * button, half pressing the shutter button doesnt work in this mode. When focused press the shutter button to take a photo, or the button with the little red camera above it to take video. Note: this camera will not keep autofocusing while youre shooting, when your subject moves out of focus you have to refocus yourself, the camera wont do it for you. Also, focusing can be pretty noisy, and you can hear it in the video. If you want to take good videos get yourself an actual video camera. 

Now for the upper half, Advanced Shooting Techniques.
In the basic zone modes (explained above) to prevent spoiled shots, most functions are set automatically and cannot be changed. In theses modes you can change your settings to achieve the image you want.
Going up from the green square..
Creative Auto Shooting - Some people might put this under the basic modes, but Im explaining it under more advanced. Basic modes except creative auto take care of everything, whereas the creative auto mode enables you to easily change the pictures brightness, depth of field, color tone, etc. The default settings are the same as the full auto mode. 
Program AE - In the program ae mode, you can set various functions and be more creative. The camera sets the shutter speed and aperture automatically to obtain the standard exposure.  P stands for program; AE stands for auto exposure. 
Action Shots - You can either freeze the action or create motion blur with the Tv (shutter priority AE) mode. Tv stands for Time Value. In this mode you can change the shutter speed, ISO, exposure comp, flash exposure comp, picture style, white balance and metering mode, aperture is automatically set. 
Aperture Priority - To obtain a blurry background or to make everything near or far look sharp, set the mode dial to Av, aperture priority AE) to adjust the depth of field. Av stands for aperture value, which is the size of the diaphragm home inside the lens. In this mode you can change aperture, ISO, exposure comp, flash exposure comp, picture style, white balance and metering mode. Shutter speed is automatically set.
Manual - Pretty self explanatory, in manual mode, you manually set everything, nothing is automatic unless you set it to auto. In this mode you can change the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, exposure comp, flash exposure comp, picture style, white balance, and metering mode. Nothing is automatically set.
Auto Depth of Field - Objects in the foreground and background will be in focus automatically. All the AF (autofocus) points will function to detect the subject, and the aperture required to attain the necessary depth of field will be set automatically. In this mode you can change the ISO, exposure comp, flash exposure comp, picture style, white balance, and metering mode. The shutter speed and aperture are automatically set. 

I hope this helps you understand you shooting modes a little better. If anything is unclear or you have any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment below. 
For a break down on shutter speed and aperture click ->HERE<-
For a break down on some photography terminology click ->HERE<-

Disclaimer: All photos are mine, unless otherwise stated. All opinions are my own. No monetary exchange occurred in exchange for this post.

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